Education as Process

"The 'genuine essayist'...is the writer who thinks his way through the essay - and so comes out where perhaps he did not wish to... He uses the essay as an open form - as a way of thinking things out for himself, as a way of discovering what he thinks...[A]n essay is not meant to be the 'whole truth,' the sociological truth, the abstract and neutral truth...[It is instead] an expression of the self thinking...In an essay, it is not the thought that counts but the experience we get of the writer's thought; not the self, but the self thinking." ~ Alfred Kazin

Alfred Kazin's words remind me of the section in Paul Heilker's book
The Essay where he reprints the students' essays, describes the processes they went through in writing the essays, and then the students' impressions of their writing experience. Many of the students described how their opinions were expanded through the process and they felt more engaged in the writing because they started with an opinion and were able to continue speaking from their, as well as other speakers', perspectives. They appreciated that they weren't forced to appear "neutral" as Kazin describes above. The students as essayists took us with them on their journey of discovery, and it was well worth the trip.

This makes me want to do the same type of essayist writing as I do research for my graduate degree. Unfortunately, if I decide to "essay" on my way to my degree it will have to be purely for my own enjoyment since the only writing that will earn me a degree is a traditionally written, academic research paper. It's unfortunate that our educational system puts a premium on an end "product" (a research paper or thesis) and not on the growth acquired in the process.